Road scheme volunteers brush up on ways to support the community

The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire has been given a welcome spruce-up thanks to the nearby National Highways A38 road improvements scheme.

Volunteers armed with paint brushes coated more than 130ft of fencing in the car park at the popular arboretum in Alrewas to leave the woodwork looking as good as new once again.

National Highways is carrying out essential work along the A38 between Fradley and Barton under Needwood which will mean safer and more reliable journeys for the thousands of drivers who use the route every day.

The comprehensive programme includes resurfacing the carriageway, clearing vegetation, renewing the safety barriers, drainage systems, street lighting and road markings as required.

The compound for the scheme is temporarily housed at the arboretum.

It was clear that some of the car park fencing could do with a bit of TLC and the project team offered to step in and carry out the work.

Volunteers from National Highways and supply chain partners Carnell - who supplied the materials – WJ, Kier, McCann and Crown Highways all took part.

The businesses are part of the Midlands Collaborative Community - a group which shares best practice among National Highways, its delivery partners and suppliers.

Caption: Work under way on restoring the fencing

National Highways Project Manager, Saima Khan, said:

“It is essential that we carry out this important work so that we can continue to provide drivers with safe, reliable journeys as well as creating a smoother and quieter road surface.

“And we are carrying out a lot of work at the same time to reduce the need to return here in the future. But we do appreciate that any roadworks can cause some disruption.

“So we are very grateful to local people and businesses for their understanding and like to give something back to the community if we can. We saw an opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to the National Memorial Arboretum and a number of our team gave up an afternoon – in the heat – to carry out this renovation.”

Carnell Customer Service Manager, Tom Wilson, said:

“Our work on the A38 has given us a presence in the area for several months. With the increasing emphasis on the social value that our schemes provide, we were keen to reach out to local community organisations and see how we could address their wants and needs.

“Painting the car park fence is the first of several initiatives we have identified at the National Memorial Arboretum which will help maintain and improve their facilities so that the public can continue to enjoy their inspirational living landscape for generations to come.”

Work on the A38 scheme got under way in March and is expected to be finished by the autumn.